Leadership Self Assessment For Theory And Practice

Summary of Relevant Self-Assessments

Discuss about the Leadership Self Assessment for Theory and Practice.

Leadership is a concept that plays an integral part in one’s day to day social life as well as professional and works life (Northouse, 2015). It is driving force that is necessary for any given situation, wherein a group of people are interested in achieving a common goal, and its related behaviour can be observed in almost all types of social scenarios, be it informal or formal.

I have observed that in informal social settings, consisting of situations wherein a group of friends go about their group activities, one of them tend to exhibit certain leadership behaviours, resulting in a particular individual usually taking a lead in a majority of the group activities. Furthermore, I have seen this phenomenon occurring many times among my own group of friends too, wherein the person who takes a lead most of the time is myself.

As part of the task, we had to undertake relevant self-assessment techniques that enabled us to identify our own leadership style and discover insights about our leadership behaviour and attributes. A self-assessment of my leadership style revealed that I have the characteristics of a transformational leader which is based on my abilities in motivating others, through the strength of my personality and charisma, which increases organisational well-being and engagement (Bellé, 2013). I am capable of offering authentic intellectual stimulation to all the members in a team setting through creative thinking and continuous improvement. I possess people skills, which enable me to easily interact with my group members, increase the overall efficiency of the group, and increase the effectiveness of the individual members of the group. I also possess the vision that makes it possible for me to offer individual consideration to each member. Overall, my leadership style is one in which, I as a leader and my fellow team members help and assist one another in creating a synergy for advancing to a higher level of motivation, encouragement and morale. I am capable of effectively encouraging my team members to equally participate in the group activities and assisting them to suggest new and unique ways that enable us to face all sorts of challenges as a team (Cherry, 2016). We are thus able to achieve success through positively affecting the working environment, through enhanced stimulation and performance and by ensuring that each member is able to create a sense of his/her own identity. This enables all the members to project the unique image of himself/herself to other members of the team, in addition to identity collectively with the group. I also exhibit leadership behaviour like providing inspiration, generating interest and dealing with challenges that make me appear like a role model to others in the group. These characteristics are appreciated by the team members, who are encouraged to feel a greater level of ownership for their own work. I actively listen to the various needs and matters of concern of the team members and offer my support and empathise with all the team members in their matters of distress (Onorato, 2013). I am able to assess a situation with moderate ease and able to determine the strengths and weaknesses of a majority of the members of the group so that it is possible for me to delegate tasks to each individual that will help to enhance his/her performance. As a result, all the team members are able to develop a feeling of trust in me, and they are also able to appreciate and respect my efforts in forming and effectively running the group, which enables them to develop a higher amount of loyalty towards the group. This indicates that the team members are agreeable about putting in the extra effort required to achieve the team goals, and do not just think about gaining benefits for themselves.

Reaction and Comments after Sharing Results and Insights

As a transformational leader, the attributes that I display are high integrity and an equal amount of emotional intelligence (Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee, 2013). I am able to share a common vision of the future with my group members, communicate the path to success and motivate the group members in the process. As per the results of the self-assessment, I also possess authenticity, self-awareness, and empathy, which enables me to transform and inspire each of my team members (Avolio & Yammarino, 2013). I also expect the best from every team member and believe in holding myself accountable for all of my actions. I tend to set clear goals so that every team member is challenged as per their capabilities, which leads to higher productivity and more degree of engagement for my team members.

As per the instructions of the task that was given to us, I shared the results of my self-assessment with a very close childhood friend, and is someone I trust and respect. After I shared the insights and conclusion of my self-assessment with my friend, I have noted down her reactions and comments below.

My friend feels that I am honest in all my relationships and in all the work that I do. I have integrity, which makes me reliable and trustworthy, which always made her feel like she could speak to me openly about issues we had when in a group setting. She feels that I am emotionally stable and mature, which always helped me to get easily adjusted with new people and in new groups of friends. She is of the opinion that I was always very self-motivated and easily shared my motivation with others through my intense desire in leading everyone to achieve shared goals (Edinger, 2014). She feels that I possess the self-confidence required to have faith in myself and so that my friends too have an unwavering belief in me, my ideas, and my abilities. She thinks that I exhibit beneficial cognitive abilities that help me to stand out as a leader in our social settings, by exercising good sense and judgment, showing very good analysis skills, and having clear conceptual capabilities. She also feels that I have a strong drive for achievement, which she judged from the large amount effort and energy she has seen me put in all that I do, my strong ambition, and the initiatives I always take for resolving conflicts. She states that she always believed that I have strong leadership qualities and have the capabilities to positively impact all the members in my friend’s circle.

According to my friend, as per the results of the self-assessments, my leadership behaviour in the following four areas are:

Organizational Well-Being and Engagement. I believe in encouraging and rewarding creativity as well as innovation, from the team members since it leads to mutual benefit for the entire team (García-Morales, Jiménez-Barrionuevo, & Gutiérrez-Gutiérrez, 2012). I keep open communication channels so that every member can effectively have his/her voice heard by all others. I treat all team members equally, yet appreciate their own unique strengths, talents and knowledge base. I recognise the contribution of each team member and engage each member so that they feel free to make independent decisions and provide support for their implementation. This helps the members to participate in self-development and increase their personal motivation.

Authenticity. As a leader I tend to have a positive influence on my group members so that they can uphold the same integrity and moral values that I strongly believe in. I try to be a strong role model by following the same standards and benchmarks so that I appear as someone who practices what they preach. This has apparently always helped me to gain the trust of my fellow members so that they understand that my ultimate motive is the betterment of the group, which I aim to achieve through ethical conduct.

Creative Thinking and Continuous Improvement. My leadership style encourages the group members to think out of the box and be innovative in their approach so that they can adopt better ways during the execution of all tasks (Spahr, 2015). I aspire to deal with challenges without any preconceived negative emotions and encourage the other group members to do the same, as a result of which I am able to nurture independent thought among the group members. My group members are able to come up with new ideas without any fear of facing criticism and hence treat uncertainties and adversities as an opportunity for learning.

Vision. I have always promoted a consistent vision which compels the members to move towards attaining the common goal (Hein, 2013). This helps to create a common mission, establish a sense of meaning and ensure that members are willing to work as a team in an enthusiastic and committed manner. The employees are made aware of the common goal, they are aware of the level of participation that is expected of them and hence everyone equally contributed towards attaining those goals.

The following contains the four journal entries about self-assessment:

Learnings about Myself from Self-Assessment. The relevant self-assessment was very beneficial since it helped me to learn a lot about myself and the characteristics and behaviour I tend to exhibit while in a group. I was able to gather an insight about my leadership skills and the style of leadership I which helped me to increase my sense of responsibility and my level of autonomy. The self-assessment enabled me to strive for a better understanding of the concept of leadership, its subject matter, my own skills and behaviour. I was able to clearly process my thoughts about leadership the point of a passive learner to an active assessor of my own leadership attributes. The positive critical reflection on my own leadership style helped me to develops deeper understanding of my own judgement and subjectivity. From the self-assessment, I recognised that having a clear idea about my own personalities and leadership behaviours enables me to understand that I possess a transformational style of leadership, which is evident from my interactions in a group setting.

Till prior to the self-assessment, I used to think that I have an authoritative personality and am bossy in group settings, forcing my opinions on everyone, which made others follow me. But now I have learned that it was on the contrary my leadership skills, which made a natural leader in group scenarios. This self-aware enabled me to recognise and aim towards improving my strengths so that I can increase my leadership capabilities further (Steinhoff, 2015). It also helped me to learn about and evaluate my limitations and areas of weakness. I was able to learn that I can positively use my leadership skills to achieve my personal goals as well organisational objectives in the future (Givens, 2008). I was able to learn what I need to improve my leadership behaviour on a personal as well as professional aspect, in order to maximise my potential.

Similarity and Differences in Perception about Results of Self-Assessment. Prior to taking the self-assessment test, I had the feeling that I do not have any noticeable amount of leadership skills, and my attitude in group settings is that of an authoritative member, who enforces his/her opinions on the rest of the group. However, the opinion of my friend was that I had the following leadership skills, which were similar to the result of the self-assessment (Buj, 2012):

• The motivation that comes from within and self-actualization to use as a driving force for efficiently managing the overall direction of the group.
• The capability of making difficult decisions by facing challenges as they arise, and not putting off tough decisions. She agreed that I tend to align my decisions with my predetermined vision, objectives, goals and, internal values.
• The ability to keep my ego in check by ensuring that the goals of the group come first over my personal benefits. She also agreed that I encourage others to put in their best within the group because everybody will benefit from the success of the group.
• The tendency to be adaptable, by seeking new and unique ways for reacting to an environment that is constantly developing and changing.
• The ability to inspire others and be willing to listen to new ideas, so that the team grows through advanced levels of high participation.
• The ability to be proactive since I have never waited around for someone else to make the decisions first and then give my reaction.
• The tendency to have a vision, by setting an appropriate and realistic goal, that agrees with all the members of the team.

Effect of Leadership Style on Relationships. Every particular leadership style has a set of different outcomes on the work relationships between the leader and the followers (Van Dierendonck, Stam, Boersma, De Windt, & Alkema, 2014). I view people in a group as my equals, never differentiating between any of the members based on factors such as level of performance, talent, limitations or weaknesses. I see people as assets who can each work in tandem to create a synergy and positively impact the outcome with help from each other. I relate to others as a friend, confidante and a mentor, so that I can provide the necessary guidance, that will help to increase the participation and motivation in each of my team members.

In group settings, people usually react to me in a very positive way, seeking my assistance when required and speaking to me directly in case of any issues (Roueche, Baker III, & Rose, 2014). They provide their own opinions in the case of any decision making and after I address all the concerns and empower people to make their own decisions, they feel happy and satisfied (Braun, Peus, Weisweiler, & Frey, 2013). This implies that the work I prefer involves a lot of listening as well as speaking. I like work that involves me hearing out the issues that people have and helping them to resolve it in a unique way. I also prefer addressing a group of people when a joint activity occurs so that I can encourage all the members to strive towards a common goal.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Barriers and Opportunities in the Implementation of Leadership Style. There are various internal strengths and weaknesses that every manager/leader faces, as well as distinct barriers and opportunities that individuals face during the implementation of their own leadership style. However, these can be overcome in order to maximise one’s own potential.

The methods for taking advantage of my strengths and minimising my weaknesses as a manager/leader are:

I need to be very passionate about whatever I do so that those who come to me for leadership and guidance realise that I too care very much about the goals of the group (Morgan, 2015). Being genuinely curious and passionate about the group goals will fill me with enthusiasm for the projects that I will have to work on (Vernon, 2015). In this way, I will also be able to indicate that I care about the progress of my team members, and deeply appreciate their contributions.

I have to be able to maintain a positive attitude so that my team members are naturally attracted to me and value my opinions (Barnwell, 2015). By being positive, I will be able to persist in my task, be generally happier and fill people in the group with positivity.

I also have to further improve my communication skills, so that I can communicate the group’s vision, objectives and expectations to other team members in a clear and specific manner (Taylor, 2016). This will also include my capacity to listen to what the other group members are trying to verbally and non-verbally communicate.

The method of overcoming barriers and opportunities to the implementation of leadership style in my student/professional life is by developing relationships based on trust, including that between a leader and the group members (Carter, Armenakis, Heild, & Mossholder, 2013). Trust is the essential element that contributes towards holding work and non-work relationships together, the absence of which will lead to team members turning to other for direction and guidance. The establishment of a professional relationship that is based on trust, helps to improve morale, employee engagement and motivation, as a result of which, performance and efficiency increases (Groysberg & Slind, 2012).  

Conclusion

Self-assessment about my leadership qualities revealed that my leadership style is that of a transformational leader. The self-assessment enabled me to learn in detail about the leadership qualities that I exhibit.  On discussing the results, insights and conclusion about the self-assessment with my confidante, it was revealed that she too feels similarly about me since I have indeed displayed similar leadership behaviour. As a transformational leader, the effect of my leadership style on my work relationships is largely positive. Additionally, I was also able to determine the different strengths and weaknesses that I face as a leader and the barriers and opportunities that I am confronted with during the implementation of my leadership style.

References

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